Tomorrow we (or, some of us, here in the U.S.) observe the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the late famed martyr and champion for equality and justice during what has come to be known as the Civil Rights movement of 1960s America. Among other things, he is famous for his "I Have a Dream" speech, and around this time every year you will have many people examining how far our country has (or hasn't) progressed towards the realization of his dream. Or, folks will describe and discuss their own dreams for social progress. So here I will do the latter, and get somewhat personal as well. I think.
For the past 4 years I have run a moderately successful small business, a tutoring agency: Apple Tutors U.S.A. I created it because, ever since I was a moody, arrogant, intellectual teenager, I had an interest in education. Back then, my main career aspiration was to be a teacher. Now, I've always felt like a person with far above-average intelligence, a creative, analytical problem solver who is also thoughtful, compassionate, and patient. I could think of no better way to contribute to my world than to devote my life to educating the next generation. I did volunteer tutoring throughout high-school. I tried to continue doing that work during college but the high schools in the area didn't like my appearance. After college I eventually worked in after school programming for a non-profit, and also spent a few years working as a substitute teacher in Chicago's public schools (southside). But after my second year of that gauntlet, I decided that I should probably have some other career, and then maybe return to the classroom as a sort of retirement. I landed in the field of web application development, and I now work as a tech lead at a small software firm outside of Philadelphia. But I started my tutoring agency at the same time that I started by career as a programmer.
I had been doing some tutoring on the side after college, and also during art school a couple years after that. I have always felt that working with students (of various ages) one-on-one was very rewarding, and I could see how important the supplemental assistance was for many students. I realized I could make a bigger impact (and generate more revenue) if I recruited tutors and had them working for me, so I did just that. With my agency, I have had the greatest success when I establish a partnership with a school. The school provides space, and refers its students to us. At the first school, parents paid us directly for after-school assistance which we offered at the school during after school hours. For the past 3 years I have had a contract with a school that pays my agency from Title I funds.
My dream is to continually expand my agency's impact and evolve the service we offer. With the current relationship, most of the tutors are students themselves: a few undergrads, but mostly graduate students, who work earn some supplemental income while helping elementary and high school students in academic problem areas.
Of late, I have felt the need to define the mission of Apple Tutors U.S.A., and to define my vision for the venture. Apple Tutors aims to provide personalized educational assistance in order to help students build a strong foundation in basic skills and perform to their highest academic potential; to supplement the instruction that students receive in the classroom in order to help them more effectively apply what they have learned. Apple Tutors U.S.A. also strives to build community by creating an opportunity for young, struggling, growing scholars to form relationships with older achievers, in the hopes that this exposure and the academic growth created by these relationships will encourage struggling students to achieve. Apple Tutors also seeks to provide quality, focuses (one-on-one or small group) academic assistance to students and households who can't afford to pay the rates normally charged by private tutoring services, by developing relationships with funded organizations and academic institutions.
So, although the agency started off by providing its services to parents who paid its competitive rates out of pocket, for the past three years it has served students whose parents paid nothing, as we have partnered with a private school who, as I mentioned earlier, has been able to pay for the service with Title I funds. Part of my vision for the agency is to develop more such partnerships, and to even apply for such funds as well, as I seek to fulfill the agency's mission.
Currently I have been more interested in evolving our service offerings, and in particular I have been trying to determine how best to integrate technology. I have researched supplemental education software; I am currently working towards using Khan Academy's math and science lessons for our sessions on all levels. This is a step, but, I believe, it will just be the beginning. Perhaps we it is time to thoroughly explore offering online tutoring.
Changing course, I want to talk more about the dreams keeping me up at night. My agency is just part of what how I imagine myself contributing. I have other business ideas, but no time or capital or formal business plans. I need to develop these things, but I must still sustain myself. Sometimes I think that I should quit my job. Other days, I think that perhaps I should ask them to invest in my own venture(s), just as someone once invested in theirs. And sometimes I think I should just find a different job, as I am starting to feel like my creative potential cannot be realized in my current role and position. I feel that I could and should be ding something much more interesting. Some sort of creative director in a socially conscious community development organization, or something of the sort. I know that I'd like to be doing something more interesting, something that ignites my passion and is also challenging, something that really engages my creative analytical senses, but also allows me to use the broad education which I've invested in. I feel stifled...like I'm about to be stuck. But I know that it is within my power, and my responsibility alone, to do something about all this. I'm searching. In pursuit of my dreams. Whatever they may be!
For the past 4 years I have run a moderately successful small business, a tutoring agency: Apple Tutors U.S.A. I created it because, ever since I was a moody, arrogant, intellectual teenager, I had an interest in education. Back then, my main career aspiration was to be a teacher. Now, I've always felt like a person with far above-average intelligence, a creative, analytical problem solver who is also thoughtful, compassionate, and patient. I could think of no better way to contribute to my world than to devote my life to educating the next generation. I did volunteer tutoring throughout high-school. I tried to continue doing that work during college but the high schools in the area didn't like my appearance. After college I eventually worked in after school programming for a non-profit, and also spent a few years working as a substitute teacher in Chicago's public schools (southside). But after my second year of that gauntlet, I decided that I should probably have some other career, and then maybe return to the classroom as a sort of retirement. I landed in the field of web application development, and I now work as a tech lead at a small software firm outside of Philadelphia. But I started my tutoring agency at the same time that I started by career as a programmer.
I had been doing some tutoring on the side after college, and also during art school a couple years after that. I have always felt that working with students (of various ages) one-on-one was very rewarding, and I could see how important the supplemental assistance was for many students. I realized I could make a bigger impact (and generate more revenue) if I recruited tutors and had them working for me, so I did just that. With my agency, I have had the greatest success when I establish a partnership with a school. The school provides space, and refers its students to us. At the first school, parents paid us directly for after-school assistance which we offered at the school during after school hours. For the past 3 years I have had a contract with a school that pays my agency from Title I funds.
My dream is to continually expand my agency's impact and evolve the service we offer. With the current relationship, most of the tutors are students themselves: a few undergrads, but mostly graduate students, who work earn some supplemental income while helping elementary and high school students in academic problem areas.
Of late, I have felt the need to define the mission of Apple Tutors U.S.A., and to define my vision for the venture. Apple Tutors aims to provide personalized educational assistance in order to help students build a strong foundation in basic skills and perform to their highest academic potential; to supplement the instruction that students receive in the classroom in order to help them more effectively apply what they have learned. Apple Tutors U.S.A. also strives to build community by creating an opportunity for young, struggling, growing scholars to form relationships with older achievers, in the hopes that this exposure and the academic growth created by these relationships will encourage struggling students to achieve. Apple Tutors also seeks to provide quality, focuses (one-on-one or small group) academic assistance to students and households who can't afford to pay the rates normally charged by private tutoring services, by developing relationships with funded organizations and academic institutions.
So, although the agency started off by providing its services to parents who paid its competitive rates out of pocket, for the past three years it has served students whose parents paid nothing, as we have partnered with a private school who, as I mentioned earlier, has been able to pay for the service with Title I funds. Part of my vision for the agency is to develop more such partnerships, and to even apply for such funds as well, as I seek to fulfill the agency's mission.
Currently I have been more interested in evolving our service offerings, and in particular I have been trying to determine how best to integrate technology. I have researched supplemental education software; I am currently working towards using Khan Academy's math and science lessons for our sessions on all levels. This is a step, but, I believe, it will just be the beginning. Perhaps we it is time to thoroughly explore offering online tutoring.
Changing course, I want to talk more about the dreams keeping me up at night. My agency is just part of what how I imagine myself contributing. I have other business ideas, but no time or capital or formal business plans. I need to develop these things, but I must still sustain myself. Sometimes I think that I should quit my job. Other days, I think that perhaps I should ask them to invest in my own venture(s), just as someone once invested in theirs. And sometimes I think I should just find a different job, as I am starting to feel like my creative potential cannot be realized in my current role and position. I feel that I could and should be ding something much more interesting. Some sort of creative director in a socially conscious community development organization, or something of the sort. I know that I'd like to be doing something more interesting, something that ignites my passion and is also challenging, something that really engages my creative analytical senses, but also allows me to use the broad education which I've invested in. I feel stifled...like I'm about to be stuck. But I know that it is within my power, and my responsibility alone, to do something about all this. I'm searching. In pursuit of my dreams. Whatever they may be!
Posts
